learn and master guitar

Discussion in 'Music genres, Bands and Artists' started by manty420, Jun 29, 2010.

  1. Hey everyone,
    I am thinking about buying the Learn and Master Guitar series for teaching myself how to play and I was wondering if anyone could tell me whether or not it was a good buy.

    Thanks

    :hippie:
     
  2. Dude, here's what I tell people who want to learn an instrument.

    You can't have the slightest bit of frustration in the beginning, because it'll make you wanna quit.

    Don't pay someone to teach you. Or buy any products.

    Every day, pick up the guitar and try to play it for at least an hour or more.

    Just try to play what you hear.

    In 365 days, you'll be able to play the guitar well enough to show off for your friends.


    Best of luck!
     
  3. #3 Ritalin, Jun 29, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 29, 2010
    If you have no real basic knowledge of the guitar, then lessons or a learning book/dvd is a great way to get some of the fundamentals. Then the best thing to do is learn as many songs as you can. The internet is such a great source for lessons, tips, tricks, tabs, so maybe start there before you commit too much money on lessons, and find out guitar is a hobby you want to stick with.

     
  4. I dont think this is gonna work for most people. If you have absolutely no knowledge of an instrument and you try to just play it yourself without any assistance or guidance at all, chances are you're not gonna learn much and you'll end up quitting.

    Another problem is that people will pick up bad habits that will be harder to let go. I played the piano/keyboard and drums growing up so I know a little about instruments. If I picked up a guitar today I wouldn't even know what to do with it.
     
  5. #5 dontholdback, Jun 29, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 29, 2010
    I taught myself, and I've been playing for about 6 or 7 years now. I consider myself above average, but I do have a background in music from a young age. Still I think anyone can teach themselves if they truly want to learn.

    I suggest you go online, find some chord charts, do some research and teach yourself how to read chord charts( not hard AT ALL) then start trying to finger some basic chords. Some of the most basic and widely used chords are A major,A minor, E major, E minor, D major, c major, F. You'd be surprised at how many songs you can play by just learning a few chords. You might want to get someone to coach you early on, to make sure your holding the pick right/ using the correct fingers for each string etc.. but this is also something you could learn by watching youtube videos or something if you don't know anyone that plays.

    The way I learned was I started out by learning two chords, practing them until I could play them and get a decent sound out of it, then practiced switching between those two chords. After I mastered those two, I would learn one or two more, and repeat the process. Eventually, you'll get comfortable enough where you can start adding variations onto the chords and learning more complex chords.

    Also, If you have a good ear, try to start playing songs by ear as early as you can, this is what really gave me a feel for the guitar and helps you a lot down the line if you want to start doing improv jams and whatnot. Also You should learn to read tabs, then you can find tabs for songs you like but can't figure out by ear, and this will also help you grow as a player. a good website for this is ULTIMATE GUITAR TABS ARCHIVE | 300,000+ Guitar Tabs, Bass Tabs, Chords and Guitar Pro Tabs!

    that should get you started, hope I was of help. If you have any more questions, Post em!
     
  6. When I first started playing I got HELLA frustrated. My fingers hurt, didn't know how to tune it, couldn't do anything cool, very uncordinated.

    All it takes is time and dedication. I've played for only a year and a half and I can play from Led Zeppelin, to Slayer, to 311, to Metallica, and even some Buckethead. And I can't even read sheet music

    Sit down with your guitar EVERY DAY for atleast 1 hour and just play, fiddle around, do whatever. You'll eventually start putting 2 and 2 together and start coming up with stuff.

    This will help you build up calises (sp?) on your fingers, that was a huge help to me.

    Try to find some easy songs to start off with that has chords and notes.



    My very first song was Mother by Pink Floyd.
    Sweet Dreams by Marilyn Manson is very easy too.
    Star Spangled Banner.
    Horse with no name.

    If you can't read music, try tabs.
    here is what I use, www.911tabs.com

    Good luck, and HAVE FUN :wave:
     
  7. Well, let's be completely honest here - you can teach yourself anything really from guitar to some sort of crazy advanced mathematics, but that's not the ideal way for everyone to learn.

    Personally, I'm self taught. I took 1 music theory class in highschool which was a joke. The class moved so slow that I never ended up learning anything I didn't already know (Not to sound like a douchebag or anything).

    You can self-teach yourself, but I promise you'll develop some bad habits. Not that its a huge deal but you might find your practices less efficient than if you didn't have those bad habits (I know I have plenty of 'em). Take my word for it - I think I have a great understanding of music & theory (definitely above average), but I'd LOVE for someone who knows more than me to sit down and show me some stuff. The more I've learned, the more I realize that I know such a small fragment of whats possible.


    I think everybody's kinda mentioned this already but some fundamentals -

    All the open major chords
    All the open minor chords
    All the barre major chords
    All the barre minor chords

    Once you learn them understand WHY they sound the way they do. I don't know if you have any theory background, but I could help you with that if you wanted. Its not just enough to learn these things, but everything comes together when you learn WHY they work.

    Always make sure you find a song where you can apply what you learned - Looking over a bunch of scales for 6 hrs/day is great but sometimes making that connection and hearing how they fit in a song is what you need.

    Someone mentioned practicing an hour a day. That might be good at first because your fingers will be tender, but personally I don't think an hour a day is nearly enough.
     
  8. I said atleast 1 hour a day, but frank is right.

    Damnit Frank you're so fucking wise, I envy you.
     
  9. I saw, I wasn't shitting on you ;)

    And thanks man, that's the first time I've heard that! I'm definitely by no means even in the ballpark of mastering knowledge of guitar or theory - still a long journey ahead!

    I feel like these threads pop up a lot. I think this forum needs a theory, application, & guitar tech thread so we can all bounce information around where it'll all be unified.
     

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